Handguns and rifles are in widespread use. Handguns are extensively used both by law enforcement agencies and by people who carry guns for their own protection. Rifles are widely used by hunters and sportsmen. A variety of devices, including safety locks built into handguns and rifles, are used to prevent accidental firing of the guns. Even so, accidental discharges do occur, most frequently during the loading and unloading of the handgun or rifle.
To prevent accidental discharge of handguns and rifles during loading and unloading, devices have been designed to lock the trigger of such guns against inadvertent actuation. Even when such trigger locking devices are provided, however, gun users sometimes forget to employ them; or an inadvertent discharge takes place, even though the trigger is locked against actuation.
Many law enforcement agencies require officers to load and unload guns in a specified location, with the muzzle of the gun pointed toward a barrel of sand or similar material. As a consequence, if an accidental discharge should take place during the loading or unloading of the gun, the bullet which is discharged will strike the sand in the barrel and be stopped within a few inches; so that no harm is done. When firearms are loaded and unloaded in a law enforcement agency location in this manner, the sand barrel theoretically provides the desired level of safety.
A possibility still exists, however, if an officer is distracted or is jostled during the loading and unloading operation, that the barrel of the handgun may not be pointed at the sand barrel. Consequently, in the event of an accidental discharge, the bullet may miss the sand. This is dangerous. Even if the handgun is not pointed directly at a bystander, ricocheting of the bullet or splintering of the bullet can create a potentially harmful situation for both personnel and the surroundings. The situation is even more serious during the loading and unloading of military weapons, which may be loaded with armor piercing bullets. With respect to automatic or semi-automatic weapons, if an accidental discharge should take place during the loading and unloading operation, it is possible that the first discharge of a burst of discharges may create a recoil which kicks the muzzle of the firearm away from being pointed at the sand in the barrel. Another disadvantage of sand barrels of the type which have been used as safety devices in law enforcement agencies is that the barrels and contents are relatively expensive, as well as being heavy and large.
It is desirable to provide a simple and inexpensive containment system capable of working with a wide variety of handguns and rifles, which is relatively small and lightweight, and which absolutely guarantees safety during the loading and unloading of a firearm in the event of an accidental discharge.